Shakeology During Pregnancy: Is it Safe? All the Pros and Cons

The Pros and Cons of Drinking Shakeology While Pregnant

In this article we are going to discuss the pros and cons of using Shakeology protein powder during your pregnancy. If you search the web or reach out to your trusted physician or nutritionist you might be surprised by what you hear about Shakeology during pregnancy. In fact there’s a lot of contradicting information out there. So what’s right?

Pretty sure by the end of this article all your questions will be answered and you’ll know exactly whether or not you are comfortable with drinking Shakeology throughout your gestation.

**This post may contain affiliate links to items that I own and am confident will benefit you immensely. Please read full disclosure here.**

Who am I and Why am I Talking About Shakeology During Pregnancy?

So who am I and why am I even talking to you about Shakeology?

I am a mother of three little girls, the creator of the Perfect Pregnancy Nutrition and Fitness plans and I am certified in Pregnancy Lifestyle and Nutrition and as well as personal fitness training. I personally drink Shakeology on a daily basis because of its high nutritional content and the huge effect that it has on my digestion and thus how I feel everyday. It really is without compare for me.

Let me preface by saying I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist. Before making any changes to your prenatal diet plan you should absolutely or reach out to your trusted physician, midwife, or doula. I do however have multiple nutrition certifications and a heck of a lot of experience guiding women through prenatal and postpartum health.

If you’re wondering what’s in Shakeology that makes it more than a typical protein powder there are quite a few things that set it apart.

Shakeology not only can contains a good bit of protein but also contains:

around 70 superfoods
adaptogens
digestive enzymes
prebiotics
probiotics
and has a crazy low glycemic index rating

Most of that sounds absolutely perfect for pregnancy. All the way down to that low GI rating! You really want to pay attention to the sugars that you consume, the carbohydrates you consume, and the glycemic index rating of things that might normally seem high during your gestation.

Reason being that frequent spikes in your blood sugar can have negative effects on your growing baby. And that is absolutely not only for people suffering from gestational diabetes, that is true for every pregnant woman.

You can learn all about that and more “prenatal nutrition secrets” (that all women should know about) in the Perfect Pregnancy Nutrition Plan. The ideal and most up-to-date prenatal nutrition program as of 2021.

It is based on dozens of the most recent scientific studies regarding prenatal nutrition. Tons of stuff that your OBGYN isn’t even going to tell you but absolutely should. It’s not their fault, they might not even know a lot of this information.

And don’t worry, in the Perfect Pregnancy Nutrition Plan I’m not just blabbering on scientific studies in ways that are super difficult to comprehend let alone remember with baby brain. I have compiled all the information into a super easy to understand format and what’s even better it’s easy to implement as well.

Every woman who is handed a positive pregnancy test should really be handed a copy of the Perfect Pregnancy Plan along with it. It is that revolutionary. The PPP breaks down:

the macronutrients
the micronutrients
also how to source them

that you need during your gestation.

Did you even know that we now know that what you eat during pregnancy has a direct effect on the morbidity and mortality of your baby? That what you eat if you know how to properly nourish that little growing thing can turn on and off their genes? Predisposing them to disease or making them less apt to suffer from it?

Epigenetics during pregnancy information should be given to every pregnant woman because we now know so much in 2021! Get your hands on the Perfect Pregnancy Plan now so that you can give your baby the best ability for a long and healthy life.

So how does Shakeology tie into prenatal nutrition?

First let’s talk about the pros of drinking Shakeology during your pregnancy.

I have dozens of friends who drank Shakeology throughout their gestation and have it has specifically been recommended by their doctors. In fact the nutritional content of whey Shakeology is so high that I have seen many doctors approve it as a prenatal vitamin.

There is actually that much good stuff in Shakeology for your pregnancy! All the way down to the inclusion of real folate not folic acid– which there’s a good chance you can’t even absorb.

Learn exactly why you need to be taking folate as opposed to folic acid during your pregnancy. Or even before conception if possible!

There are many pros and a few possible cons to drinking Shakeology during pregnancy. For me and my healthy pregnancies, the steep list of benefits far outweighs any cons. But only you and your physician can make that call for yourself during your pregnancy.

The Pros of Drinking Shakeology During Pregnancy

Probiotics in Shakeology During Pregnancy

I highly recommend taking probiotics everyday during your gestation. Probiotics are vitally important to keeping your stomach and digestion functioning optimally, which most of us have trouble with during pregnancy. The best way to get probiotics is from your diet.

Shakeology has probiotics mixed right into its formulation along with prebiotics: which probiotics need because it is their food.

Probiotics also help keep you healthy by strengthening your immune system. It’s now believed that up to 80% of your immune system is housed in your gut, making keeping that part functioning optimally vitally important.

Pregnancy naturally decreases your immune system. Your body is busy doing so many other things to create an entirely new life. Probiotics can help you to stay healthier throughout your pregnancy and make less apt to get colds and flus.

Digestive Enzymes in Shakeology for Pregnancy

As previously stated, your digestion is going to be probably pretty messed up while you’re pregnant. Basically right from the beginning of gestation. Even in your first trimester it is super common to suffer from constipation.

As your baby continues to grow and your organs move around and all press on your intestines, constipation can linger and worsen all throughout your pregnancy. Shakeology has the best blend of digestive enzymes I have ever seen. In fact it completely changed my chronic horrible digestive issues after only two weeks of drinking it daily. The digestive enzymes in Shakeology are far more than you will find in any supplement that you can purchase! Even more than are in mega digestive enzymes which have a pretty good blend and I took for years before I discovered Shakeology. The digestive enzymes in Shakeology are a huge benefit to be taking during pregnancy.

Shakeology Can Help Ease Nausea During Pregnancy

Most of us are pretty darn nauseous throughout our first trimester. For some pregnancies that can linger throughout your entire gestation or resurface in the third trimester. Keeping your digestion functioning optimally helps alleviate some nausea. Thus the aforementioned prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes in Shakeology can also aid in nausea.

Shakeology is quite easy to stomach. Sometimes when you can’t keep anything else down a protein shake is a fast way that is delicious and nutritious and can really help you get in a lot of nutrition when you’re having trouble keeping down anything of substance. Sure your baby will be fine if you have to survive on potatoes and crackers for a while, but it’ll be a lot better if you can scoop in over 70 super foods that don’t even make you feel nauseous like you can when you’re using Shakeology during your pregnancy.

It’s even better mixed up in an anti-nausea pregnancy smoothie.

Folate in Shakeology

Many cheaper prenatal vitamins and cheaper protein powders and foods will contain folic acid.

Folic acid is the artificial form of folate. We began including it in our foods in order to reduce the number of neural tube defects is that we were seeing. Folate unfortunately is not very well absorbed so it was thought that fortifying our foods (like almost all breads and cereals) with folic acid would rectify that.

Unfortunately in more recent years we have now realized that due to a very common genetic mutation known as MTHFR that between 40 and 50% of women cannot even absorb folic acid at all.

This is actually really scary. We know that folate or folic acid is one of the top ways to prevent neural tube defects in early pregnancy. If you’re not even absorbing the folic acid then you’re not doing anything to prevent these NTDs.

Fortunately Shakeology contains folate in its pure plant-derived form so you can be sure it’s benefitting your baby.

Superfoods in Shakeology

Superfoods is just a fancy name for foods that we know to have a very high nutritional density.

During your gestation your requirement for calories surprisingly doesn’t really increase that much. You really are only going to be needing between another 100 and 300 calories a day from your prepregnancy nutritional requirements.

So that whole “eating for two” phrase is actually really deceiving. While you’re caloric needs only increased slightly during your pregnancy, your nutritional needs skyrocket.

In fact you need up to three times as much of certain nutrients in order to grow a healthy baby. That points to the vital importance of having a solid pregnancy nutrition plan in place. You need to be eating more nutrient dense foods but not necessarily more food. The The Perfect Pregnancy Plan walks you directly through how to do this. Plus it has over 80 delicious recipes to help you keep your nutrients high as well.

Shakeology is jam-packed full of super foods and makes it really easy to increase the new nutritional density of your diet.

Greens and Shakeology for Pregnancy

In the Perfect Pregnancy Nutrition Plan I recommend taking chlorella and spirulina greens every single day. There are many benefits to these including the highest amount of non-heme iron, pregnancy safe detoxing, and much more.

Shakeology already contains chlorella and other greens in it. During your gestation you’re going to be tired and the more simple it is to take your supplements during your pregnancy the better. One scoop containing all this good stuff is a lot easier than taking a whole bunch of different supplements.

It is not recommended to detox during pregnancy. However it is very important to learn how to avoid toxins where you can while pregnant. And surprisingly, avoiding tons we come in contact with every day is pretty easy. The only proven safe way to detox during pregnancy is through taking a chlorella supplement, which Shakeology contains.

Ready to Give Shakeology a Try? Grab you bag or sample pack now. And of course you will want to know all my best tricks to save big on your Shakeology too! You can save up to $50 using my tips.

The Cons of Drinking Shakeology During Pregnancy

Some people actually choose to stop taking Shakeology during their gestation despite all the aforementioned benefits. Whether it is a personal preference or recommendation by their doctor, not everyone is comfortable drinking Shakeology (or any protein powder for that matter) during their pregnancy.

Based on everything I know about the science of prenatal nutrition I highly recommend taking a protein powder supplement during your gestation. That is not to say that you should be using it as a meal replacement in an attempt to lower calories. But you should be using it as a nutritional supplement to enhance the nutritional density of your diet without increasing its caloric count substantially; if that makes sense. So there are a few valid reasons that you might choose not to drink Shakeology during your pregnancy and here they are.

Adaptogens During Pregnancy

Adaptogens are herbs known to countereffect stress in the body over time. Many cultures throughout the world have been using adaptogens to increase fertility prior to pregnancy and throughout their pregnancy. But since it hasn’t been scientifically heavily studied, there are a few varying opinions regarding adaptogens during pregnancy.

Most adaptogens during pregnancy are controversial. You will absolutely find people and articles alike that rave about using each adaptogen during pregnancy, and others that say you should absolutely avoid each. For example some cultures always include ashwagandha in their cultural prenatal diets.

Some people stay away from it for fear that it can cause miscarriage when taken only in super high amounts. Being that this ingredient along with a handful of other adoptogens in Shakeology for pregnancy are part of a superfood blend their content in one scoop of the superfood powder is not very high. However the exact amount is not listed on the packaging.

The adpatogens that can be found in Shakeology are aswaghanda, astragulus, maca root, cordyceps, maitake, reishi, schisandra, and chaga. They do not have a high amount of any of the adaptogens, but there also isn’t an exact amount on the label.

I personally know many women who drank Shakeology every single day throughout their pregnancy and had perfectly healthy babies. But if this is of concern to you you might want to wait until near the end of your gestation or your postpartum journey to drink Shakeology.

RELATED: Is Maca Root Safe During Pregnancy?

Sugar in Shakeology

The sugars and Shakeology actually turned me off from trying it for quite some time. I was on a sugar-free diet for many years and Shakeology contains about six grams of sugar in each serving. Really it’s not that high of a number. An Apple has 35 g of sugar but it was still something that I was concerned about.

Thus I have done extensive research about the sugar and Shakeology and you can learn all about it through that link. To sum it up: it is not what we would think of as sugar. The Sugar in Shakeology is not white processed sugar and is actually not detrimental to your health under normal circumstances.

Instead it is a blend of fructose and a small amount of pure cane sugar put in to make the most delicious blend possible. It is mostly fructose and this can be proven by the fact that Shakeology has an extremely low glycemic index rating.

The reason that I’m talking about this is because if you have gestational diabetes I have seen some doctors say that you shouldn’t drink Shakeology. They might not be aware of the glycemic index rating, but even if they are they might just be erring on the side of caution. Gestational diabetes is not something to be taken lightly and should you be suffering from that it might not be the right time to add Shakeology into your diet so please ask your trusted physician before trying it.

Shakeology for Weight Loss

Most people think of Shakeology as a diet food or a weight loss food instead of just a nutritional supplement. As I stated before you would not be wanting to drink a protein powder in order to lose weight during your pregnancy. It is a vital that you gain weight during your pregnancy.

The exact amount you will want to gain during your pregnancy is going to vary upon your pre pregnancy weight and your body type but there’s a good chance you’re going to be wanting to gain between 15 and 45 lb.

You will also gain that through differently throughout your pregnancy. Most women don’t gain much during their first trimester and some even lose weight. Learn how to gain exactly the right amount of pregnancy weight during your gestation and what that number is for you.

So if you are overweight at the start of your pregnancy (which far more than half of women are) you will definitely be wanting to pay attention to your calories and could even use a pregnancy smoothie as a meal. But not just Shakeology blended with water as a meal replacement. That could cause you to lose weight and isn’t even considered a full meal if it is not paired with some carbohydrates and healthy fat.

You can absolutely lose fat during pregnancy however losing weight is not something that you would want to achieve.

Wrapping up Is Shakeology Safe During Pregnancy? The pros and cons.

As you can see there are many pros and even some cons to drinking Shakeology during pregnancy. Whether or not you choose to drink it during your gestation is up to you and your trusted physician, midwife, and doula. But now you are fully informed and can probably make a pretty good decision as to what is right for you.

If any of the cons of drinking Shakeology during pregnancy are of worry to you and your specific pregnancy, there are other amazing protein powders that are super clean that you can drink during your gestation as well for added nutrition.

They are not as high in nutritional density as Shakeology protein powder, however there are some other really good options too. So what do you think, are you going to drink Shakeology during your pregnancy or wait until your postpartum journey?